Keepers' Diaries, April 2022

Ithumba Reintegration Unit



The month began with a miracle in Ithumba. Wild-living orphans Naisula, Kitirua, Olare, Loijuk, and her baby, Lili, arrived at the stockades with a tiny baby in tow.

01 April 2022

It was a quiet morning with only few wild bulls showing up. Ex-orphans Tomboi and Zurura briefly joined the orphans before leaving. Mutara and her team were late to arrive for lucerne by about twenty minutes but for them, it was better late than not showing up at all. A wild female whose baby we helped out of a water trough two days ago also came for lucerne. It's not clear where the rest of her herd might have gone since it was only she and her baby who came. The orphans walked out and settled to browse in the Kone area. 

Nabulu and Karisa looked deep in conversation and perhaps they were discussing what's happening with the rains since its getting late and there is still no clear sign if rain is on the way. Eventually they resumed browsing. Sattao ran into trouble with Ambo when he tried to break a branch that Ambo clearly had his eyes on. Even though she was a slight distance away Kamok came quickly and separated the two boys. 

Yatta and her herd joined the orphans at the mud bath and parted ways half an hour later. In the afternoon Roi snatched Dololo and took him off with her to join the late-night gang. When it was time to return home, the Keepers couldn’t find them anywhere, but the late-night gang returned Dololo to the stockade compound later in the evening shortly after midnight. 

A miraculous occurrence happened this afternoon. A young baby, about a week old, arrived at the stockades in the company of the ex-orphans Naisula, Kitirua, Olare, Loijuk and her baby Lili. The baby looked confused and was crying all the time while trying to nurse on every elephant, but it appeared to be closeer and slightly more comfortable with Kitirua. Kitirua, who is Naisula's friend, has not had a baby and is not even showing any signs of being pregnant. The situation became even more complicated when Sities showed up with Mutara’s herd and took the control of the baby.

The baby was obviously an orphan and only Kitirua would be able to tell us how she came across him! She clearly knew that he needed help, being so young, milk-dependent, and obviously an orphan, and knew that he would find it at Ithumba. The baby was rescued and taken to our Kaluku Neonate Nursery at our Field HQ.

02 April 2022

It was a quiet morning which began as usual with the orphans walking down to have their lucerne supplement breakfast. Immediately after settling for lucerne, Mutara and her herd arrived to join as well. They decided to quench their thirst first, before proceeding for some lucerne too. Kuishi walked to the water trough and welcomed the Mutara’s herd, only she wasn't allowed to interact with little Mambo which she looked evidently disappointed about. 

After feeding on lucerne, the orphans headed northeast of the stockades where they settled to browse. The orphans concentrated mostly on browsing up to ten o'clock in the morning when Mundusi broke the peace by engaging Pare in a pushing game. Their game then attracted Karisa and Jotto who paired up for a strength testing exercise too. 

When the orphans made their way to the mud bath it was quite cool, so the orphans only had their milk bottles and some water before heading back out to browse. Wild elephant bull Dad, with few of his friends, showed up at the mud bath and enjoyed drinking lots of water before leaving again. 

The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill for the rest of the afternoon. Dololo was a good boy today and didn't allow himself to be escorted away by the late-night gang. All the orphans returned safely to the stockades for the night. 

03 April 2022

Mutara and her team reported early before the orphans were let out and waited. They didn't want to miss anything as far as lucerne was concerned; they wanted to make sure that they got the fresh lucerne as soon as it was handed out by the Keepers. Two buffaloes took advantage of the elephants feeding on lucerne to sneak in and drink water without being charged away by them. The two buffaloes drank the water quickly and left before they could be disturbed by the elephants. Shortly later, a wild herd with two tiny babies arrived and joined the orphans for some lucerne too. Nabulu made friends with one of wild babies. They played and had lucerne together for quite sometime. The baby left when it's mother rumbled, signalling that it was time to leave. Nabulu waved at the wild baby by lifting her trunk up, perhaps in hope of meeting her again one day. Kauro, who had carried his own pile of lucerne a distance away from the others as usual, saw Roi approaching and sensed that she might try and steal his share. Kauro quickly gathered what was remaining and ran further away. 

Later when the orphans were out in the bush, Jotto and Karisa met up but their meeting ended in a disagreement. This then escalated to a pushing game. Mundusi intervened and separated the two boys who are both his friends. Larro and Naboishu settled to browse with Sana Sana while Ambo teamed up with Kamok. 

Heavy clouds obscured the sky but still they didn’t produce any of the much-needed rain. The orphans had their milk bottles at noon beside the mud bath, then some water, before going back out to browse. In the afternoon heavy winds pushed the clouds to the west, thus diminishing any hope of getting rain today. Kuishi, Naboishu and Ndiwa decided to take a break from feeding and relaxed under a tree until the temperature dropped to a more favourable level. The remaining part of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated specifically on browsing and less on messing about in games. 

04 April 2022

Ten wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water troughs when the orphans were let out this morning. Kauro, who has learned some tricks from the wild elephants on how to carry a full bale of lucerne, decided to carry one for himself. He used his feet to kick it a distance away from the others then lifted it with his trunk before moving off to a more secluded area. This is a clever trick which will always ensure he gets his own, very large, share! One of the wild bulls decided to join the orphans for lucerne too. Shortly later, Yatta and her herd arrived. The juniors didn't like the competition brought about by the arrival of their seniors so Karisa and Larro led the way out to browse. 

Sattao, Mteto, Esampu and Rapa took a break from feeding and decided to start a game of rolling on the ground. As soon as they had enough of playing and rolling they went back to browsing. It was very hot when the orphans made their way to the mud bath. Sattao, Dololo, Jotto and Nabulu jumped into the mud bath as soon as they finished their milk bottles! The heat had obviously been too much for them and so they decided to cool off the first moment they could. The rest of the group joined them and briefly had a quick bath before heading to the smaller roadside mud bath that they like the most. Enkikwe joined a wild bull in who was soil dusting beside the mud bath for a while, and then left to catch up with his friends at the small mud bath. The afternoon was quiet. Kamok teamed up with Ambo and Ndiwa to browse as Mukkoka, Larro and Naboishu teamed up with Sana Sana and Malkia for the rest of the afternoon.

05 April 2022

The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockades in the morning. Ex-orphans Kenze and Zurura were among ten wild elephants who came for water this morning and then joined the orphans briefly for some lucerne. Kauro as usual picked his share and moved away from the rest of his friends. Sattao decided to feed close to Kenze as he admired his size and wondering how long it would take him to grow to his size. We could spot him stealing furtive glances up at the big bull by his side.

When all the orphans were finished with their lucerne, Sapalan and Karisa led the way out to browse. Shortly before nine o'clock in the morning the orphans spotted two baboons who were having a lot of fun messing about nearby. The baboons’ games were brought to a swift end when Rapa, Dololo, pare, Esampu and Sattao ganged up and charged at them. The baboons had no other option but to run away, and the orphans were clearly happy with their easy victory. 

At mud bath time the orphans had their milk feed then Dololo and Sattao jumped into the water for a cooling off exercise. As soon as the two boys had enough of wallowing, Dololo led Sattao to the soil pile to dry off. In the afternoon Galla engaged Jotto in a pushing game while Kithaka played with Mundusi. The sun was still beating down later in the afternoon, and we watched on as Nabulu took Mukkoka to find some nice shade where they relaxed until it became cooler.

06 April 2022

It was a quiet morning. Only Wendi, Wema, Loijuk, Lili and Naisula joined the dependent orphans for lucerne. Mteto and Kuishi had a disagreement with Lili that resulted in a pushing game. Loijuk intervened however and stopped the girls from fighting. As soon as the lucerne was finished, Larro, who we are sure in time will become a matriarch of her own herd, for she has been demonstrating these qualities since she was in the Nursery, led the way out to browse. Mutara and her herd joined the orphans where they settled to browse in the Kone area. The orphans Malkia, Sana Sana, Mteto and Kuishi wanted to play with Mambo but they didn't succeed as Mambo is always under very tight security provided by Sities, Suguta, Kainuk, Turkwel and Chaimu. The girls could only follow him from a distance, hoping that one day they might have the chance to play with the boy who is never allowed to wander far from his nannies! 

At mud bath time the orphans had their milk then headed to the small roadside mud bath where they found Loijuk, Lili, Lenana, Lapa, Galana and Naisula having fun. Since the mud bath is smaller, the orphans waited for their seniors to finish before diving in themselves. Kamok and Ambo decided to skip the mud bath entirely and instead had a soil dusting exercise before going back to browsing. Later the orphans took a break from feeding and relaxed under a tree for nearly two hours. When it became a little cooler later, they resumed browsing until it was time to head home at 5pm.

07 April 2022

The sky was clear in the morning when the orphans were let out, which indicated a hot day a head. The orphans settled to enjoy fresh lucerne and had the honour of being joined by ex-orphan Rapsu who was passing by. Naboishu, Sattao and Musiara stretched their trunks towards Rapsu in morning greeting. Rapsu didn't respond but hurriedly picked up as much lucerne as he could and then left. Mutara and her herd were the next to report and share lucerne. Nabulu walked to the water trough and helped herself to enough water that would see her through the entire morning. Malkia moved to try and get close to Mambo and at last she succeeded as this time round no one pushed her away! It seems her persistence and patience are starting to pay off; soon Mambo will get used to seeing her around and eventually start enjoying her company, maybe even seeking it! Malkia was overjoyed. 

Later, the orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Despite the scorching sun, the orphans endured and continued to browse because they knew they needed to find enough food so they wouldn’t return hungry this evening. Pare couldn’t bear it any longer though and wanted a break from feeding, so he chose to engage Karisa in a short strength testing exercise that ended in a draw.

The orphans had their noon milk feed then joined the wild bulls present at the mud bath for some water, before heading to their roadside mud bath. In the afternoon, they settled to browse west of the Ithumba Hill. They were all very well behaved today, with none of the orphans deciding to sneak away, apart from Oltaiyoni’s late-night gang (consisting of Siangiki, Olsekki, Naseku, Roi, Galla, Wanjala and Tusuja – the latter of which are spending more time with ex-orphans these days), who as usual who spent the night out.

08 April 2022

It was a quiet morning as not a single wild elephant or ex-orphan was present when the orphans were let out today. Naboishu was the first one to leave the stockades followed by Larro and Mukkoka. The orphans settled in their usual place for the Keepers to distribute the lucerne supplement breakfast. Half an hour later, Mutara and her herd emerged from south in a hurry, as Oltaiyoni and her small team of Roi, Olsekki, Siangiki, Galla, Lemoyian and Bomani emerged from the east. Both groups wanted to get to the stockade compound in good time before the dependent orphans finished all the lucerne. Malkia walked to welcome the Mutara’s group and then settled close to where Mutara was, to make sure that Mambo saw her close by. Mambo spotted Malkia and moved over to her and even tried to nurse from her. Malkia was so happy to finally win Mambo’s trust, and also to finally be able to get through his tight security team. It was a start!

As the orphans settled for water and prepared to leave for browsing, a wild bull showed up and joined them briefly for water before leaving again. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area and were joined by Loijuk, Lili, Cheka, Chyulu, Lapa and Lenana. 

As the orphans made their way to the feeding area beside the mud bath for their noon milk feed, they joined some wild bulls who were already drinking water there. After having enough water, the orphans didn't waste any time and headed straight back out to continue browsing. 

It was still a very hot afternoon and later the orphans decided to take a break to relax under some trees with nice shade, and only resumed browsing later when it got a little cooler.

09 April 2022

Three wild bulls that were drinking water at the stockade water troughs left as soon as all the rumbunctious orphans came running out of their stockades, excited to begin a new day. It appears the bulls were new to the area as they didn't want to interact with anyone! The orphans enjoyed their lucerne for nearly two hours as they weren’t disturbed by any other elephants today – none of the ex-orphans nor any wild elephants showed up to share. As the orphans were preparing to leave, a lone wild bull checked in. He picked up a bit of the leftover lucerne then walked to the water trough for a drink. The wild bull was briefly joined by Olsekki, before he walked off back into the Park. 

An hour after the orphans had left for browsing, Tomboi and Buchuma arrived to have some water then headed west towards the mud bath. 

A bit later in the morning the dependent orphans ran into a pack of wild dogs who were out on the hunt. Rapa, Mundusi, Wanjala, Karisa, Sattao and Dololo ganged up and charged at the wild dogs. The wild dogs started playing a cat and a mouse game with the orphans. Luckily Tomboi and Buchuma arrived and provided reinforcement, chasing the wild dogs away. The two older gentlemen then spent sometime with the orphans before heading to the mud bath with them. 

As Tomboi, Buchuma and the dependent orphans arrived at the mud bath they found 25 wild bulls already there. Ex-orphan Challa, who is always around and never disappears for long, was present too. The orphans had their milk bottles and some water, before heading to the smaller mud bath nearby, as they opted to give some space to the wild bulls to enjoy themselves at the main waterhole. Only Sattao remained behind relaxing under a tree with Challa, but he left a bit later on to join up with his friends after spending enough time with the older ex-orphan. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area for a bit of a change. It is still very hot with no sign of rain yet. 

10 April 2022

Chyulu, Cheka, Wendi, Wema, Galana, Lenana, Lapa, Naserian, Njema, Loijuk, Lili, Kitirua and Naisula arrived early before dawn and decided to wait for the orphans to come out so as to share the morning lucerne with them. Galana and Wendi appeared to have separated with their first-born daughters Wiva and Gawa, as it has been a while now since we have seen them, and they must be with other members of Yatta’s full herd. 

The orphans were let out and joined the ex-orphans waiting outside. They all shared together before parting ways later. Four buffaloes showed up for water as the ex-orphans and the orphans were busy feeding on lucerne. The buffaloes didn't meet any resistance and had enough water before leaving at their own leisure. 

Mother Nature continues to play hard and shows no mercy as the orphans crisscrossed over a wide area in search of vegetation to eat. At mud bath time they joined several wild bulls drinking water after having their milk bottles. The wild bull known as Dad and few of his friends were present. 

Larro and Naboishu led the way back out to browse soon after taking their milk. Roi and her team stole Dololo and Mteto and went missing for the entire afternoon, but Roi and the rest of the late-night gang brought Dololo and Mteto back to the stockades early, just before 5pm.  

11 April 2022

Ambo took a sharp turn right soon after leaving his stockade. This right turn led him straight to the lucerne store where he tried to break in but he couldn't manage. Instead he stood outside waiting for the Keepers to open the door, but once the Keepers arrived Ambo was driven out to join his friends and wait together with them. Mutara and her team arrived and joined the orphans too. Lucerne was distributed by the Keepers and after eating their fill, Mutara led the way out for the day. Malkia followed Mutara in an effort to spend some time with Mambo, but Mutara didn’t want Malkia following them so pushed her away. Half an hour later, Mutara team and the late-night gang parted ways with the other dependent orphans and walked off into the bush. 

The rest of the orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Sattao and Musiara took time off from browsing to engage in a strength testing exercise that ended when Musiara surrendered. At mud bath time, thirty-five wild bulls were present. Challa was the only ex-orphan present with the wild bulls. The orphans relaxed under a nearby tree soon after having their noon milk feed. 

The afternoon was spent west of the Ithumba Hill and the sun felt so hot that at one point, the orphans decided to go for a brief cooling-off exercise at the roadside mud bath. After they were done the orphans chose to relax under some shade still, waiting for the temperature to drop to a more favourable level. In the evening Dololo, Musiara and Rapa tried to sneak off but they were spotted by the Keepers. The Keepers called out their names and cautioned them not to try to leave and they walked back to join their friends.  

12 April 2022

Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Wendi, Wema, Naserian, Njema, Melia, Tumaren, Olare, Narok, Kanjoro and a wild herd joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning. The girls Mteto, Esampu, Malkia, Nabulu and Malima were happy to have several babies to interact and play with as they enjoyed their breakfast. Wema got into trouble with Kamok who isn’t as affectionate towards babies as some of the other females. Wema tried to share lucerne with Kamok but she wasn’t having any of that! Kamok pushed Wema away, hard, prompting her to yell for help as she ran to her mother. Wendi met her mid way and took her in. Several wild bulls showed up in the company of Buchuma. Shortly later a buffalo turned up as well but today he had difficulty accessing the drinking water as the elephants kept on charging. Nabulu, Sattao and Rapa tried to charge at the buffalo but it didn't move, as the buffalo rightly considered them to be young elephants and not much of a threat. The buffalo finally managed to drink some water and then left immediately after having enough. 

Larro led the way out to browse today. Sana Sana and Kuishi settled to browse with Naboishu as Mukkoka and Larro teamed up with Malkia. Ambo settled to browse with Kamok while Maramoja was with her favourite Musiara. The orphans browsed calmly up to mud bath time when Dololo led the first group to the mud bath. Challa and a team of boys were enjoying cooling off in the water as the orphans had their noon milk bottles. As soon as they were done, Mapia led the way to the small roadside mud bath instead. 

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of the Ithumba Hill. It was a quiet afternoon as the orphans concentrated on browsing without any major distractions. 

13 April 2022

Zurura and two wild bulls joined the orphans this morning. The rest of ex-orphans didn't turn up and appear to have travelled far away from the stockades. The orphans took their time to feed and enjoy the serene environment without the presence of the ex-orphans and too many wild elephants. Once the orphans had enough lucerne, Karisa and Sapalan walked down to the water trough to wash down their breakfast, and the rest of the herd followed suit. After drinking enough water that would take them through the entire morning, Esampu led the way out followed by Naboishu and Larro. 

The sky was clear and this meant a hot day a head. At nine o'clock in the morning it was already getting hot. The orphans spotted a lesser kudu relaxing under a tree with great shade. Mundusi, Rapa, Sattao, Mukkoka, Malkia and Sana Sana couldn't bear that the lesser kudu got to stand relaxing under such wonderful shade while they stood in the sun burning. The team charged and trumpeted as they ran towards the lesser kudu, which didn’t hang around for the elephants to trample her! The lesser kudu disappeared as fast as her legs could carry her and the orphans triumphantly and happily occupied the shade for a while before going back to browsing. 

Enkikwe disappeared with the late-night gang and arrived later at the mud bath after his friends had already finished their milk feed. Enkikwe was escorted by Siangiki to get his share of milk too. Twenty-two wild bulls were present at the mud bath in the company of Challa and Zurura too. The orphans shared water with the wild bulls then headed for the roadside mud bath to cool off.

In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in between Imenti and Ithumba Hill. Given the hot weather, the orphans relaxed under a tree for nearly two hours to escape the scorching sun. Finally, once it was cooler, the orphans resumed browsing. 

14 April 2022

Mutara and her group reported early before dawn and relaxed outside the stockade compound. The orphans had their morning milk bottles at six o'clock, then Naboishu led the way out and joined Mutara and her group. Lucerne was provided by the Keepers and Malkia took advantage of Mutara who was busy feeding on some lucerne, to whisk Mambo a few metres away from his mother. Malkia, who appears to be winning the heart of little Mambo, spent some quality time with him before Sities came over and took Mambo away from her. Malkia didn’t seem upset however because she knew she would have another opportunity to play with him. Shortly later, a wild herd showed up with two young babies who are known to our orphans. Maramoja took one baby to the side and had fun playing some games before the baby went back to her mother. After the orphans had enough lucerne, Larro, Mukkoka and Naboishu started walking south. The rest of the team trailed behind the three newest arrivals to Ithumba who already know their way around so well.

The orphans had a quiet morning as they browsed seriously and with intent, without messing about. The dry conditions have persisted for quite a long time now, and it is clear the orphans are adjusting to it by being less playful in order to make sure that they have enough food. 

At mud bath time, thirty-five wild bulls were present. As usual the orphans had their milk bottles then some water, before heading to the smaller mud bath. Kamok, Sapalan, Rapa and Nabulu lagged behind with the wild bulls but joined their friends a bit later. It was still hot in the afternoon and orphans took refuge under some trees with good shade to escape from the scorching sun. In the evening Mukkoka led the first group back to the stockades for the night. 

15 April 2022

As soon as the gates were opened for the orphans to come out, Nabulu led the way and headed straight to the water trough were she met with ex-orphan Tomboi. Tomboi shared water with Nabulu then they walked together to the lucerne feeding area. Wily Ambo found the gate of the store open and managed to get inside to get his share. The Keepers spotted him however and told him to get out! Ambo left peacefully but with a triumphant piece of lucerne wrapped in his trunk. He was very happy to be the first one to have lucerne that morning! A wild elephant who was drinking water with his friends decided to join the orphans to feed on lucerne too. 

Once the orphans had enough, Sana Sana and Naboishu led the way out for the day. Rapa, Enkikwe and Pare spotted a warthog a head of them, and the three boys charged in unison running towards the warthog. The warthog disappeared as fast as lightening, leaving the boys confused as they charged and knocked down bushes while looking for the warthog. At last the boys got tired and stopped their silly behaviour of knocking down bushes. Ambo and Sattao stood a distance away watching, and seemed as though they were laughing as the drama unfolded and the three boys searched in vain for the warthog that was nowhere to be found. 

Later, Ambo, Sattao and Musiara enjoyed a soil dusting exercise that didn't last for long as they didn't want to lose too much time allocated for their browsing. At mud bath time, the orphans had their milk then briefly relaxed under a tree with Tomboi, before heading to the roadside mud bath. The orphans had fun there and after, Mundusi, Lemoyian and Esampu settled for soil dusting. Enkikwe had light strength testing exercise with Roi as Ndiwa, Maramoja and Kauro settled for scratching. In the evening, Sattao led the way back to the stockades for the night. 

16 April 2022

It was a quiet morning today. Sana Sana, Ndiwa, Mteto, Pare and Karisa walked down to the water trough to drink water as they waited the for the Keepers to distribute the lucerne. After the lucerne was distributed, a wild boy and Rapsu emerged from west. The wild boy joined the orphans to feed on lucerne as Rapsu proceeded straight to the water trough to drink water before joining the orphans. Later the mischievous ‘wild boy’ Kithaka, Mapia, Mundusi and Jotto walked down to the water trough to drink water before leaving. 

The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area where they encountered a warthog and some wild dogs. For the first time, we were surprised that in both encounters, the orphans appeared uninterested in charging about as this meant wastage time and energy when it’s still early and time should be spent browsing before the sun becomes unbearable. 

At mud bath time the orphans had their milk bottles then Pare and Malima walked to join the wild bulls to drink water. The wild bulls were gentle and they didn't threaten the orphans but allowed them to share the water with them. Naughty Mundusi ran off with his bottle of milk and got into the mud bath with it! After emptying its contents Mundusi just dropped it in the water and the Keepers had to find a stick to fish out the empty bottle from the water. Malkia led the way back out to browse when the orphans were done at the mud bay. It was a cloudy afternoon but towards evening the clouds were blown away by heavy winds. It was Kuishi who led the way back to the stockades tonight. 

17 April 2022

It was a quiet morning with no other wild animals in sight when the orphans were let out. The orphans settled for lucerne and enjoyed each moment as there was no disturbance from any outsiders. Minutes later, Challa, who is always gentle with the young orphans, checked in and joined the orphans for some lucerne too. The boys, Mundusi, Dololo, Sattao, Pare and Rapa draw closer and enjoyed feeding with Challa. The only time they moved was when they were letting Challa pass from one point to another. A wild friend, who had accompanied Challa, was very shy and wouldn’t join him or the other dependent orphans for lucerne; he simply moved off to have some water then walked away. A few minutes however he came back again and gestured to Challa that it was time to go. Challa took his time and left to join his wild friend after spending quite a while sharing lucerne with the dependent orphans. The boys bid Challa goodbye and wished him well. 

Led by Karisa, the orphans settled to browse in Kone area. Larro teamed up with Malima and Sattao to browse while Naboishu settled to browse with Sana Sana. At mud bath time, Lemoyian and Kithaka, who have joined the late-night gang, arrived early at mud bath led by Naseku. Tumaren, Lenana, Loijuk, Lapa and Lili joined the orphans at the mud bath too. Much to their delight, Mteto, Esampu and Malkia interacted with Lili and Lapa for some time before parting ways. Ex-orphan Tomboi stood under a tree enjoying the shade, and was joined by Sattao, Jotto and Ambo. Later, the orphans headed for their roadside mud bath which they enjoy after having their milk bottles. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated specifically on browsing for the rest of the day.

18 April 2022

Nabulu was the first one to come out of the stockades today. She walked down to the water trough and joined a buffalo and a wild elephant drinking water. The fearless Nabulu had her fill then walked back to join her friends. Fifteen wild elephants were present morning but only two joined the orphans for lucerne. Mutara and her team reported shortly later and joined in feasting on the lucerne. 

As soon as the lucerne was over, Mteto led the way out for the day. On the way, a flock of guinea fowls got it rough when Rapa, Ambo, Kauro, Pare, Mukkoka, Esampu and Larro decided to run at them. The clever guinea fowls had read their minds however and knew what was coming, and so flew away leaving the orphans charging and chasing empty space since they had already flown off. Later, a troop of chattering baboons passed close to where the orphans were feeding. The orphans weren’t comfortable with the passing noise makers and took action by sending Sapalan, Jotto, Mapia, Musiara and Mundusi to drive the baboons away. The baboons ran odd as soon as they saw the boys approaching. Calm was restored and the orphans were happy to feed in a quiet environment. 

Mundusi, Mteto, Rapa and Kamok lagged behind and only showed up later at the mud bath, when their friends had already finished their bottles and walked off to continue feeding! In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of the Kalovoto seasonal river. It was very hot and the orphans decided to take a break from feeding to relax under some trees until it was cooler. Sattao and Musiara engaged in a brief strength testing exercise that was ended by Maramoja who was trying to protect her favourite Musiara. In the evening, Larro led the first group back to the stockade compound for the night. 

19 April 2022

Mapia, Ndiwa, Mteto and Maramoja headed straight to the water troughs this morning, while Esampu, Karisa, Rapa, Pare and Naboishu opted for a scratching exercise along the stockade wall before joining their friends for some water too. It was very calm as there weren’t any other elephants around so there wasn’t any competition for water. Only one buffalo showed up minutes later and enjoyed drinking water without any resistance or disturbance from anyone. Half an hour later, the ex-orphans came running in because they were late. They shared lucerne with the orphans before parting ways again. Malkia and Mukkoka were this morning’s leaders and everyone followed them out to the bush.

Mukkoka, Larro and Naboishu had a meeting and we wondered if they were thinking about where the rain could be, as they are used to having nice green branches in Nairobi. Eventually they disbanded and resumed their browsing activities. Enkikwe teamed up with his favourite group, the late-night gang, and ended up arriving at the mud bath early where he opted to wait for his share of milk. The late-night gang left him there since stopping and waiting would be a waste of time for them, since they are not entitled to any milk anymore. The milk vehicle arrived and Enkikwe received his share early before the others even arrived. Soon after having his milk, Enkikwe walked off in a hurry to catch up with his favourite group. The way he was hurrying no one would ever guess he had a compromised leg from his old lion injury, as he was walking so fast! The rest of the dependent orphans arrived and drank their share, then walked down to wash their feet before settling for a soil dusting exercise. 

In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill, but it was so hot it prompted the orphans to walk to the roadside mud bath. The evening was quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing. 

20 April 2022

The wild bull called Dad and his friends were at the stockade compound this morning. Tomboi was the only big ex-orphans present, and then a wild herd with two tiny babies joined the orphans for lucerne too. Mteto, who loves babies a great deal, tried to get close to the two tiny ones but their mothers were quite hostile, prompting Mteto to abandon her mission and just hope that she might be able to meet up with the ex-orphans and their babies later. Naboishu ran into trouble with Kamok when he stepped on some lucerne that Kamok was planning to eat. Kamok whipped him with her trunk and warned him that he should not repeat such a mistake. Naboishu was lucky that Kamok woke up in a relatively good mood today otherwise she could have easily knocked him to the ground. Mukkoka, Sattao, Dololo, Musiara and Jotto seemed to laugh at Naboishu as he walked away from Kamok. Naboishu looked embarrassed but there was nothing he could do as the boys were all bigger than him. Sana Sana saw Naboishu’s gloomy face and came to his rescue. She placed her trunk on Naboishu to comfort him and he immediately looked much happier. Later, Sana Sana led Naboishu to the browsing field and they browsed together up to mud bath time. 

Thirty five wild bulls were present at the mud bath when the orphans arrived. All the orphans joined them to drink water and Sapalan and Mapia were the last ones to finish sharing water with them. Shortly later, Wendi, Njema, Loijuk, Lili, Lenana, Lapa, Narok, Olare, Naserian, Njema, Chyulu, Cheka, Lualeni, Lulu and Lexi showed up for water at the mud bath. Lili tried to squeeze herself amongst the wild bulls but one of the wild bulls was slightly aggressive and pushed Lili away. Lili was very upset and yelled out for help. Loijuk came running over but there was nothing she could do about the huge bull. 

In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. On the way back to the stockades for the night, Mteto met with Lapa, Njema, Cheka and their parents. Mteto decided to spend some time with the babies before going into her stockade for the night – so she eventually got to play with some babies today 

21 April 2022

Zurura, Mutara, Mambo, Sities, Turkwel, Suguta, Kainuk, Chaimu, Kama, Lemoyian, Kithaka and Barsilinga joined the orphans this morning. A few minutes later, seventeen wild dogs showed up for some water. Pare and Rapa, who were the first ones to spot them, were jealous that the wild dogs were drinking their water and charged towards them. The wild dogs remained unmoved however, making the two boys retreat with their tails up! Ex-orphan bull Zurura came to their rescue and tried to drive the wild dogs away. The wild dogs retreated a short distance away but then came back in full force, and then Zurura had no option but to surrender and move back to join the orphans! The wild dogs carried the day, had their fill of water, and then left at their own leisure. The orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area and had a quiet morning. 

At mud bath time, Roi managed to snatch a bottle of milk and run away with it. This made poor Enkikwe miss his share since he was the last one to show up. Enkikwe was disappointed and refused leave. The Keepers had to improvise and fill a bottle with water and hand it to him. Enkikwe took it reluctantly and complained bitterly for having been short changed. After finishing the water Enkikwe walked away, still complaining and rumbling. Nabulu joined some wild bulls drinking water as Musiara and Maramoja joined Zurura relaxing under a tree. 

In the afternoon Malima, Pare and Mapia came across a lesser kudu. They chased the kudu until they got too hot and the lesser kudu disappeared. Pare, Mapia and Malima then walked back to the roadside mud bath to cool off after all their running around. After mud bathing the orphans settled for a soil dusting exercise. In the evening, Naboishu led the way back to the stockades. 

22 April 2022

The orphans left the stockades early as usual and at the lucerne feeding area they were joined by the ex-orphans and some wild herds. A total of seventy elephants settled for lucerne this morning! Enkikwe pushed one of the wild babies after it tried to take some of its lucerne. Mteto and Esampu watched over Njema and a wild baby that were playing a pushing game; the two girls wanted to make sure that the two babies didn’t hurt each other. Dololo settled to play with Lexi under the watchful eye of her sister, Lulu. Shortly later the orphans decided to leave the crowded area and Karisa led the way out. 

The orphans concentrated on browsing this morning without messing about too much. Esampu ran into trouble with Kuishi when Esampu tried to break a branch Kuishi had her eyes on. Kuishi grabbed Esampu’s tail ready to bite it but Esampu was quick enough to get away and managed to run away. 

Larro appears to have learned a trick from Roi about snatching milk bottles! Today at the mud bath she went behind the Keepers pretending to leave but instead turned and grabbed a milk bottle as the Keepers were chatting waiting for the next group. The Keepers only realised when Larro turned and walked in front of them feeling very pleased with herself! The Keepers took the empty bottle and told Larro to follow her friends and not to repeat such a thing again. Ndiwa, Mteto, Mundusi and Enkikwe came for their milk later, after their friends had gone back to browsing. 

In the afternoon Kamok, who was feeding with her friend Ambo, decided to sneak away from the Keepers. Kamok showed Ambo how to pass by the Keepers undetected, and took Ambo back to the stockades early where they waited for their colleagues as they fed on lucerne that had been provided to a few of the ex-orphans who were present at the time. 

23 April 2022

It was cool this morning following some light rain we received overnight! We were overjoyed to even have this light rain. Only one wild elephant showed its face at the stockade compound briefly as it passed by. The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving their stockades. Kauro, who has a new trick on how to carry a large bale of lucerne from wild elephants, carried one for himself and walked a distance away to enjoy it on his own. Sapalan has started to carry his own lucerne away from his friends too so he was spotted feasting from his own lucerne pile off to the side as well. After finishing lucerne, Larro led the way out for the day. 

Following the drizzle we received overnight there was no dry soil to dust with but Sattao just lay down and rolled on the moist soil. At mud bath time no single wild bull or ex-orphan showed up and the orphans had all the mud bath all for themselves. The temperature was moderate and the orphans had some water then headed for a roadside mud bath. Karisa and Jotto participated in a soil dusting exercise soon after having a mud bath. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly throughout the rest of the day. 

24 April 2022

Wendi, Wema, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Njema, Naserian, Narok, Tumaren, Melia, Naisula and Kitirua joined the orphans in the morning for lucerne. Esampu ran into trouble with Lulu when she tried to win over her sister Lexi. Lulu barred Esampu from interacting with Lexi and when Esampu insisted, Lulu pushed her away. We are sure Esampu would have taken it a step further had their mother Lualeni not been around! An hour later, the ex-orphans parted ways with the orphans. The orphans headed to browse in the Kanziku area while the ex-orphans headed south. 

Sattao took a break from feeding to have a strength testing exercise with Musiara. Their game ended in a draw, but it inspired Kauro and Mundusi who challenged one another in their own game. Mundusi surrendered when the going got too tough for him. 

Larro led the first group for the noon bottle feed at the mud bath. After their bottles Mteto, Dololo, Karisa and Pare only washed their feet at the edge of the mud bath but didn’t get in fully. Naboishu led the way back out to browse and the rest of the afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing. 

25 April 2022

The sky was partly cloudy in the morning as the orphans walked nonchalantly out from their stockades. It was all quiet for the first thirty minutes after the orphans settled for lucerne without any interference from other elephants, until the ex-orphans arrived. Then the orphans started picking up their share and moving off to the side to give space to their elders to have some lucerne as well. Malima was happy to spend some quality time with Njema as Malkia and Mteto settled to play nanny to Cheka. After having enough lucerne, Sana Sana led the whole group out to the bush where everyone concentrated on browsing as we still haven’t had good rain yet. 

The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area where Rapa, Kauro, Mundusi, Esampu, Mapia, Sattao and Dololo ganged up to charge at a buffalo they came across. The buffalo didn’t hang around after seeing the multitude of elephants running towards it and he made a quick escape. The juvenile bull elephants were left charging at the bushes as the buffalo disappeared as fast as lightening. Peace soon returned and the bulls resumed browsing alongside their friends.  

Chyulu, Cheka, Naserian, Njema, Wendi, Wema, Narok, Melia, Tumaren and Olare parted ways with orphans shortly before mud bath time. Nabulu led the first group to the mud bath for the milk feed. They found several bulls already there, and brave Nabulu joined them to drink water soon after finishing share of her milk. The orphans didn’t feel hot enough to want a mud bath, so they went straight back out to browse after having their milk and some water. 

In the afternoon, the promising clouds sadly cleared giving way to sunshine. Jotto and Galla decided to take a nap and lay under a tree with nice shade. Rapa, Sapalan, Pare, Kamok, Ambo and Enkikwe decided to go and cool off at the roadside mud bath. In the evening, Musiara led the first group back to the stockades for the night. 

26 April 2022

Ex-orphan Kenze was the guest of honour for the morning lucerne feeding time. The bulls Dololo, Sattao and Jotto admired him as they stretched their trunks to greet him and measure their height against him by standing close to him with their trunks up. After Kenze had enough lucerne, he walked down to the water trough for water and was joined by Naseku and Ndiwa. Kenze left minutes later, leaving the dependent orphans still lingering around the stockade compound. The late-night gang, Oltaiyoni, Siangiki, Olsekki, Naseku, Roi and Galla arrived from their night adventures and joined the orphans. 

On their way out to the bush the orphans met with the pack of wild dogs who are a common sighting these days. The wild dogs didn't want any confrontation and so walked away as Mukkoka, Naboishu, Sattao and Musiara raised their ears watching the dogs as they disappeared from sight. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area and had a quiet morning. Drought continues to hit hard as the rains remain elusive and no one knows what mother nature is planning. 

At mud bath time the orphans were briefly joined by Njema, Naserian, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Wendi, Wema, Narok and Olare. After taking their milk, the orphans headed to join a wild bull drinking water and thereafter headed back to the browsing field. 

As the afternoon became hotter the orphans decided to head to the roadside mud bath to cool off. They dusted themselves to dry off after and then walked to stand under some shade, waiting for it to get a little cooler as the sun dipped lower. Sapalan, Jotto and Karisa teamed up to browse together for the rest of the day. Enkikwe joined the late-night gang which has now teamed up with Kithaka, Barsilinga and Lemoyian. The team didn't show up tonight and decided to stay out for the whole night. 

27 April 2022

Ex-orphan Meibai appeared to have spent the night outside the compound with Kithaka, Kibo, Lemoyian, Barsilinga and Galla, and joined in to feast on lucerne with everyone in the morning. Meibai was very gentle with the young dependent orphans. Enkikwe, who left yesterday with the late-night gang and spent the night out with them, arrived with the same group in the morning. Shortly later, Mutara, Mambo, Sities, Turkwel, Suguta, Kainuk, Chaimu and Kalama, showed up for some morning lucerne too. Olsekki walked down to the water trough to have water and was joined by Siangiki and Sana Sana. Mapia and Ndiwa occupied the other water trough. Larro, Ambo and Naboishu settled for a scratching exercise soon after they were done with their breakfast. 

Pare teamed up with Jotto to browse throughout the morning. The whole herd browsed calmly up to their noon milk feeding time. The orphans had their milk then headed straight to the roadside mud bath. Rapa and Karisa left with the late-night gang and didn't turn up in the evening. Karisa and Rapa arrived at eight o'clock in the company of the senior ex-orphans. The Keepers called the two to come inside but they totally refused; they appeared to be enjoying the company of the seniors, and so followed them for the night.

28 April 2022

The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving their stockades. Karisa and Rapa, who had spend the night out, joined their friends in the morning. Mundusi, Mapia and Sapalan walked over to the two boys to find out where they had spent the night since they didn't come back last night. Perhaps Karisa and Rapa simply informed Mapia, Mundusi and Sapalan to join them one night to get the answers to the questions they were asking! A wild bull appeared and settled for water at the troughs. Jotto, Sattao and Musiara walked down to join the wild bull drinking water, which left when he had had his fill. 

Sana Sana and her favourite little elephant, Naboishu, set the pace for the rest of the orphans as they walked out to the bush. Maramoja settled to browse with Musiara while Kamok took her Ambo and browsed together with him until mud bath time. 

The temperature was moderate when the orphans were at the mud bath feeding area, so the orphans had their milk then walked to their favourite roadside mud bath. Mteto, Pare and Malkia lagged behind, choosing to share some water with the wild bulls, and later re-joined their friends. Jotto settled for a soil dusting exercise soon after the roadside mud bath while Mundusi chose to scratch against nearby trees. The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill and in the evening they passed by the mud bath for a cooling-off exercise that lasted for quite sometime. Larro led the way back to the stockades for the night. Enkikwe and Sapalan decided to stay behind and reported later in the night at eight o'clock.

29 April 2022

It was a quiet morning today. The orphans had their milk in morning then Naboishu led the way out followed by Mukkoka. As the orphans settled for lucerne Ambo was enjoying the company of Siangiki. Naboishu came over and tried to force himself himself between Ambo and Siangiki to share lucerne with them, but he didn't succeed. Siangiki threw a back kick that landed on Naboishu's trunk. Naboishu obviously felt unwelcome in that group and so walked to join Sana Sana. Kamok, who can be quite aloof and sometimes leads an independent life, walked down to the water trough on her own and helped herself to some drinking water. The closest friend she has, Ambo, had been hijacked early on by Siangiki and there was no way she could take him from her. 

As the orphans were preparing to leave, Kilaguni arrived and settled for some leftover lucerne. Enkikwe, Rapa and Sapalan lagged behind to keep Kilaguni company. The three boys were later escorted by Kilaguni to rejoin their friends, where Kilaguni thanked them for their good company and disappeared off into the bush. Sattao had a brief strength testing exercise with Musiara that was disrupted by Oltaiyoni. 

Kilaguni showed up later at the mud bath and made a brief stop over to where the milk for the orphans had been arranged. Kilaguni looked at the milk bottles and felt the need to grab one so as to remind himself of the good old days when he used to be stockade dependent. As he was moving to step closer to the milk, it was as if a second thought came to his mind. Perhaps he pictured the disgrace if he attempted to go for the milk as the Keepers watched on, so Kilaguni turned and walked away and fought the urge to grab one of the many bottles lined up on the ground for the milk-dependent orphans. 

Only three wild bulls showed up to the mud bath today. Kauro and Mundusi joined them to drink water and then left to join their friends who were already walking back out to the bush. The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill where they concentrated mostly on browsing. In the evening they visited the roadside mud before heading back to the stockades. On the way, Karisa, Dololo and Rapa managed to sneak past the Keepers and disappear. The Keepers only realised when they were splitting the herd to take them back to the stockades for the night, so some of the Keepers went back to search for the missing ones, but they didn't succeed. When it was dark, the Keepers finally stopped looking and returned to stockades to continue the search the following day if the three boys didn't show up.

30 April 2022

Karisa, Dololo and Rapa still had not returned in the morning. Karisa and Rapa are already well known for their tendency of sneaking off and not returning to the stockades from time to time; now they are trying to teach Dololo the same thing! If Dololo starts picking up this habit, then it will spell trouble for the Keepers since they will be having to search for him nearly every day. Ex-orphans Rapsu, Loijuk, Lili and Kitirua joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning and left with them as they walked out to the bush.

Later in the morning Kauro engaged Mundusi in a strength testing exercise. Mundusi surrendered, prompting Kauro to invite Kamok to the same game. Their antics attracted Ambo and Mapia who decided to have their own pushing game, but Ambo surrendered when the going got too tough for him. Instead Ambo walked away and picked on Musiara who is about the same size and they had a friendly match that ended in a draw. 

Dololo, Karisa and Rapa were finally located close to the roadside mud bath where they were found comfortably feeding away without bothering to know what time it was or concerned whether they should return to the others. Their friends joined them soon after mud bath and surprisingly, there was no excitement or greetings, they just continued to browse without recognising that their friends had been absent overnight! Ambo and Enkikwe settled for a soil dusting exercise soon after the roadside mud bath. Karisa, Malkia, Rapa, Wanjala and Mundusi briefly attended the roadside mud bath. Dololo gave it a wide berth and watched from a distance as his friends enjoyed a cooling-off exercise. In the evening, the Keepers remained alert to make sure that the three boys, Dololo, Karisa and Rapa didn’t escape like the previous day!